EST to CDT Converter
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Add one or more places to compare local times, adjust the date, and share the result.
Quick answers
Selected conversion
7:00 am07:00 EST (UTC-5), Nov 9, 2026 = 6:00 am06:00 CST (UTC-6), Nov 9, 2026
EST is 1 hour ahead of CST.
EST (US winter time, UTC-5) and CDT examples
These examples always use EST (UTC-5) and CDT (UTC-5). They stay the same when you change the date or time above. The selected conversion may differ when daylight saving time applies.
EST and CDT have the same local time.
EST is US Eastern winter time (early November to mid-March). The rest of the year New York uses EDT (UTC-4), one hour later. For Eastern Time that follows daylight saving time, use ET to CDT. For daylight-time examples, use EDT to CDT.
How the time difference changes
For most of the year, EDT is 1 hour ahead of CDT. From Nov 1, 2026 to Mar 14, 2027, and from Nov 7, 2027 to Mar 12, 2028, EST is 1 hour ahead of CST. Briefly around clock changes, EDT is 2 hours ahead of CST or EST and CDT have the same time.
For most of the year, working hours of 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in EDT correspond to 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in CDT. At other times of the year, working hours of 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in EST correspond to 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in CST.For most of the year, working hours of 09:00 to 18:00 in EDT correspond to 08:00 to 17:00 in CDT. At other times of the year, working hours of 09:00 to 18:00 in EST correspond to 08:00 to 17:00 in CST.
Compare EST time with CDT time, including current local time, UTC offsets, time difference, daylight saving changes, working hours, and shareable meeting times.
Time Difference
Eastern Standard Time is 1 hour ahead of Central Standard Time.
7:00 am07:00 in EST is 6:00 am06:00 in CST
EST to CST call time
Best time for a conference call or a meeting is between 10am-6pm10:00-18:00 in EST which corresponds to 9am-5pm09:00-17:00 in CST.
7:00 am07:00 Eastern Standard Time (EST). Offset UTC -5:00 hours
6:00 am06:00 Central Standard Time (CST). Offset UTC -6:00 hours
7:00 am07:00 EST / 6:00 am06:00 CST
Choose an hour to update the converter. Day labels such as “next day” or “+1” are relative to the selected date in the first column. Use Up and Down arrow keys, Home or End to move between hours, then Enter or Space to select.
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Eastern Standard Time
Offset: EST is 5 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Countries using this time zone: Bahamas, Canada, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States
Principal Cities: The largest city in the EST time zone is New York City in the United States, with about 8.804 million people. Other major cities in this time zone include Toronto, Montréal, Philadelphia, Port-au-Prince.
French: HNE - Heure Normale de l'Est
Spanish: ET - Tiempo del Este, ET - Zona Sureste
Today all shaded areas are on EST.
Daylight Saving: This is a standard time zone. During summer, some places set clocks forward one hour for daylight saving time and observe Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
Start: Eastern Standard Time (EST) started on Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 am02:00 local time and clocks were set one hour back to Sunday, November 1, 2026, 1:00 am01:00. Standard time starts annually on the first Sunday of November.
End: Eastern Standard Time (EST) ends on Sunday, March 14, 2027 at 2:00 am02:00 local time and clocks are set one hour forward to Sunday, March 14, 2027, 3:00 am03:00 local daylight time instead. Standard time ends annually on the second Sunday of March.
See USA daylight saving time and upcoming clock changes worldwide.
EST representations, usage and related time zones
- -05 - basic short
- -0500 - basic
- -05:00 - extended
- -0500 - sign character (-) followed by a four digit time providing hours (05) and minutes (00) of the offset. Indicates an offset of five hours to the west of the zero meridian.
- Romeo - Military abbreviation for EST
- R - short form of 'Romeo'
- America/Atikokan
- America/Cancun
- America/Cayman
- America/Coral_Harbour
- America/Detroit
- America/Fort_Wayne
- America/Grand_Turk
- America/Indiana/Indianapolis
- America/Indiana/Marengo
- America/Indiana/Petersburg
- America/Indiana/Vevay
- America/Indiana/Vincennes
- America/Indiana/Winamac
- America/Indianapolis
- America/Iqaluit
- America/Jamaica
- America/Kentucky/Louisville
- America/Kentucky/Monticello
- America/Louisville
- America/Montreal
- America/Nassau
- America/New_York
- America/Nipigon
- America/Panama
- America/Pangnirtung
- America/Port-au-Prince
- America/Thunder_Bay
- America/Toronto
- Canada/Eastern
- EST
- EST5EDT
- Jamaica
- US/East-Indiana
- US/Eastern
- US/Michigan
- CDT - Central Daylight Time
- EST - Eastern Standard Time
- ET - Eastern Time
- COT - Colombia Time
- CST - Cuba Standard Time
- EASST - Easter Island Summer Time
- ECT - Ecuador Time
- PET - Peru Time
- R - Romeo Time Zone
Central Daylight Time
Offset: CDT is 5 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Countries using this time zone: Canada, Mexico, United States
Principal Cities: The largest city in the CDT time zone is Chicago in the United States, with about 2.664 million people. Other major cities in this time zone include Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth.
French: HAC - Heure Avancée du Centre
Spanish: CT - Zona Centro
Today the shaded areas are on UTC−6 (Central Standard Time).
Daylight Saving: Central Daylight Time (CDT) is a daylight saving/summer time zone, but some places set clocks back one hour during winter and observe Central Standard Time (CST).
End: Central Daylight Time (CDT) ended on Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 am02:00 local time and clocks were set one hour back to Sunday, November 1, 2026, 1:00 am01:00 local standard time instead. Daylight saving ends annually on the first Sunday of November.
Start: Central Daylight Time (CDT) starts on Sunday, March 14, 2027 at 2:00 am02:00 local time and clocks are set one hour forward to Sunday, March 14, 2027, 3:00 am03:00. Daylight saving starts annually on the second Sunday of March.
See USA daylight saving time and upcoming clock changes worldwide.
CDT representations, usage and related time zones
- -05 - basic short
- -0500 - basic
- -05:00 - extended
- -0500 - sign character (-) followed by a four digit time providing hours (05) and minutes (00) of the offset. Indicates an offset of five hours to the west of the zero meridian.
- Romeo - Military abbreviation for CDT
- R - short form of 'Romeo'
- America/Chicago
- America/Indiana/Knox
- America/Indiana/Tell_City
- America/Knox_IN
- America/Matamoros
- America/Menominee
- America/North_Dakota/Beulah
- America/North_Dakota/Center
- America/North_Dakota/New_Salem
- America/Ojinaga
- America/Rainy_River
- America/Rankin_Inlet
- America/Resolute
- America/Winnipeg
- CST6CDT
- Canada/Central
- US/Central
- US/Indiana-Starke
- Central Daylight Time - UTC -5
- Cuba Daylight Time - UTC -4
- CDT - Central Daylight Time
- EST - Eastern Standard Time
- ET - Eastern Time
- COT - Colombia Time
- CST - Cuba Standard Time
- EASST - Easter Island Summer Time
- ECT - Ecuador Time
- PET - Peru Time
- R - Romeo Time Zone